Two Fridays ago, my husband and I said “screw you, cold weather” and made creamy handmade fettuccine with pancetta, leeks, mushrooms, and caramelized onions. Drizzled with truffle oil. And generously topped with freshly-grated parmigiano-reggiano.

I know that’s the longest description EVER for something that basically sounds like carbonara, but each of these ingredients were essential for making this pasta the most decadently delicious thing I’ve ever made in my life. The combination of salty pancetta and mushrooms with the sweet caramelized mixture of leeks and shallots, with a touch of cream and truffle oil was just perfect. So perfect, that my husband immediately called his parents after polishing off his plate and invited them over for lunch the next day to sample leftovers. NBD.

You obviously don’t need to make the fettuccine from scratch in order to enjoy this recipe, but trust me, it’s so much better handmade. I’ve included the steps for making the dough below the pictures in case you’re interested in a fun pasta-making workshop with your girlfriends or significant other. It takes some time, but it’s fun and once you’ve tried handmade pasta, there really is nothing better. The texture and taste is just unbeatable! We had a blast turning our home into a little pasta factory–hope you enjoy the pictures and the recipes 🙂

What my kitchen looked like during this entire process:

Prepping the ingredients – pancetta, leaks, shallots, garlic, mushrooms, semolina flour, and lotsa cheese! 

The creamy mixture of pancetta, caramelized onions and leeks, and mushrooms. So good. 

Making the fettuccine – from scratch!

Voila! The final product. A little plate of heaven. 

Recipe for Handmade Fettuccine
*Straight from Bob’s Red Mill Semolina Flour recipe for basic pasta! 

Ingredients

1 and a half cups Bob’s Red Mill Semolina Flour
Half teaspoon salt, optional
2 eggs or 3 egg whites, beaten (we added in an extra yolk or two for the yellow color!)
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. olive oil

Combine the semolina flour and salt. Add beaten eggs, water and oil. Mix to make a stiff dough. Knead 10 minutes or until dough is elastic. Wrap dough in a towel or place in plastic bag and let rest for 20 minutes.

For this next part, we used our pasta machine (you can see the process on my Instagram @mrsgcg), but here’s what the recipe suggests if you don’t have a pasta maker:

On a lightly floured surface, roll out to desired thickness and cut as desired to make fettuccine. Bring large pot of water containing half teaspoon oil to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender (this should take no longer than two minutes).

Recipe for the Sauce

Ingredients (serves 4) 

1 and a half tablespoons of olive oil
1 and a half tablespoons of butter
4 ounces pancetta, diced in small squares
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 leek, thinly sliced (throw away the dark green and tough stems)
4 cloves of garlic, grated
Sea salt
1/2 cup or 3/4 cup heavy cream (depending on how creamy you want the sauce – can also be subbed with two tablespoons of Greek yogurt)
1 box of mushrooms
Truffle oil
Parmigiano-reggiano
Thyme leaves for garnishing

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pan on high heat. Once the oil is heated, add the diced pancetta, lower the heat slightly, and cook for 3-5 minutes until slightly brown. Stir frequently to make sure the pancetta doesn’t stick to the pan.

Add the butter to the pan, along with the sliced leeks, shallots and grated garlic. Saute this mixture for around 5 minutes stirring frequently, add in the mushrooms, and continue stirring for another 5 minutes until the leeks and shallots become soft and caramelized. Lower the heat, and fold in the heavy cream along with a splash of water, stirring all the ingredients until becomes a creamy mixture. Simmer the mixture for a few minutes, until the cream thickens. Season with sea salt and pepper – remember, the pancetta already packs a ton of salty flavor, so go easy on the salt! Turn off the heat till your cooked pasta is ready to be added into the mixture.

Once the pasta is prepared, transfer in small increments to the creamy mixture to make sure you’re happy with the pasta-to-cream ratio. Stir the pasta with the mixture until it’s evenly coated to your desire.

Suggested Plating

This is a beautiful lookin’ pasta, so make sure to dress it up just right! Serve the pasta hot on a plate with freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano. Garnish with thyme leaves and a few drizzles of truffle oil. A little bit goes a long way with truffle oil, so make sure it’s just a drizzle! Sit back, enjoy. With a big glass of red.

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